Renewed Confidence in Time
by Catwoman2
Summary: Teero takes over Janeway's mind, and it's up to Chakotay to save his captain before she is killed.


Renewed Confidence in Time

**Author:** Catwoman

**Rated:** PG-13

**Disclaimer:** Paramount owns these characters, yet I write the stories

**Summary:** Takes place after the seventh season episode: 'Repression'. Teero is back, and he wants his plan to succeed, Chakotay races against the clock to save Janeway and her Starfleet crew.

Time had found them together. It happened many times. They'd get close and then pull apart, but now was different. He never put all his faith into them being together in time. But now that confidence was renewed, for they had gotten closer in the past two weeks. Ever since Teero and his mind control project, Janeway and Chakotay had grew closer, even more so then before. That had been the worst of times, but it had improved since. He quickly remembered:

A couple days after Teero's attack, Janeway had come to him at night. Those couple of days had been terror. Pure, agonizing guilt. He had spent nights hating himself. After everything, he could not believe that he had betrayed Kathryn. Sure, it wasn't him, but no matter how many times he said that to himself, he didn't believe it. And then, one night, she came to him.

_"Chakotay… I- we have to talk."_

_She dared not come any closer than a few steps from his doorway. She was silhouetted in the dimmed light, and he could not make out her expression from his seat on the couch._

_"I know." He couldn't look into her eyes._

_"It wasn't your fault," she tried to defend him._

_"Kathryn, how can you say that? I was the head of a Maquis rebellion, and you think it wasn't my fault!" He looked up at her, a pane of frost covering his eyes. Blue sapphires were gazing down at him. She had moved and was now standing directly in front of him, her bottom lip trembled, and a slight tear ran down her cheek. _

_"Oh, no Chakotay… it wasn't. Your mind was being controlled, Teero gave you no leeway over your actions." She sat down next to him, his knee touching hers, facing toward him._

_Their eyes had never left each other, but now Chakotay looked away._

_"…But it was me. I could have killed you!" That fact was eating him up inside, he was gullible enough to let a crazed man control his mind._

_"But you didn't, Chakotay! Tuvok knew the phaser was faulty, and would not have fired if it were real. Yes, it was you in person, your body, and it hurt me inside to see you almost kill me; but, Chakotay, it was not your soul, your heart, it was not you." She splayed her hand across his muscular chest, right on top of his beating heart. _

_"Thank you, Kathryn." One of his hands went to cover her hand still resting on his chest, while the other took the liberty to brush a hair out of her face and tuck it snugly behind her ear._

_"For what?"_

_"For your love, your friendship, your care. I almost killed you, and you forgave me in an instant. For that, I am eternally thankful."_

_"Well, in that case, your welcome." She gave him the crooked smile he loved._

_"That's what I love about you; you care so much." His dimples were in full force, and it was hard to resist._

_She couldn't help it, the moment was there, and it would not be spoiled. She gently leaned in and brushed her lips up against his, love that had been built up through the years was released. He took her opening and returned the kiss._

_When they pulled apart, she bid him good night and left._

Nothing was ever the same; the two weeks after then had been full of hugs, kisses, and love. Although she had never admitted with words that they were together, he knew they were. Nothing would ever be the same again, for Kathryn opened up, and he took her.

Now two weeks had gone by, and she was sitting at her command chair staring at the view screen. He walked from the turbolift, to join her at the seat next to her. 

She looked as beautiful as ever to him with reddish-brown hair shinning in the light, and blue diamond eyes glistening. He would always love her, always. 

"Commander." She acknowledged his presence.

"Captain." He returned the gesture, and opened the middle console that separated them to check the ship's status, every once in a while gazing up at her.

It took him all of five rather fidgety minutes, all without saying anything to Kathryn. He was in agony waiting for his shift to end so Kathryn and him would get some time alone. The bridge was in dead silence, other than the occasional beep of a console. Even Tom and Harry seemed a little too quiet. Something was wrong.

Chakotay's line of sight focused Kathryn into view again. Although she looked as beautiful as always, there was a strict manner to her.

Chakotay brushed it off and reasoned that it was just the morning sleepiness. He decided to go into his office and work. _Better than on the bridge where you can hear a pin drop._ He smiled and got up.

"I'll be in my office if anyone needs me."

He received a nod from Janeway, but she barely made eye contact, and did not smile. _Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed._ He thought that after all that had happened between them, he should have at least gotten a smile. Was she second-guessing their relationship?

Fear swept through him at the thought, and he felt a tingling in the pit of his stomach as his mouth went dry. He would have to discuss it with her at dinner tonight; something was definitely on her mind. Something was not right.

=^=

It had been a long day, and Chakotay had retired to his quarters for a quick shower, then he would get dressed and meet Kathryn. 

The day was very different then it should have been. The crew had been the same, Tom and Harry started to pick up a conversation later in the day, and the bridge had become noisier. There was just one problem: Kathryn. She seemed lost in thought for the whole day, and would barely talk to anyone. When shift had ended, she got up from her chair and left for the turbolift, going to her quarters. She said nothing to no one, didn't even smile once, and Chakotay was going to find out why.

"Chakotay to Janeway."

"Yes, Commander."

_Commander?_ Why was it all of a sudden Commander? It was usually just a 'Yes', and since she was in her quarters, it should have been a 'Yes, Love' or some other kind of pet name. Commander was something she rarely called him.

"Kathryn, I was wondering if we were still on for dinner?"

"I had to cancel today's meeting. See you on the bridge, Commander." The harsh words filtered through to Chakotay's ears, finally registering in his brain. She disconnected from the link.

_What the hell is going on?_ She never canceled their dinners, especially without a reason. Why was she acting so… weird? She never called him Commander, and that was the second time in two minutes! _Meeting?_ It's a dinner! A loving, beautiful dinner, not a meeting! 

Something was wrong with her, and he was going to find out what when he saw her on the bridge tomorrow. _Yeah, I'll see her! See what her problem is!_

Anger. He was angry with her? Yes, he was, and had every right to be. She had opened up to him after seven years, and in one day she had closed her heart up once again! Well, no, Chakotay would not allow that, he was going to get to the bottom of what ever her problem was if it killed him. 

=^=

The turbolift doors swished open as Chakotay entered the Bridge for another day in his shift. It was quiet, but not like the day before, today was a tenuous quiet. Chakotay felt that if he talked there would be some major consequences, but he had no reason to feel that way. 

Maybe it was the way Kathryn looked: staring at the view screen, death glare, straight back, and shoulders sharp. The way she looked three years ago, when Voyager had been caught in the middle of a battle between the Borg and Species 8472.

Chakotay decided he would go into his office to work on reports, and then, halfway through the shift, would confront her on what was wrong. The silence was eerie and he dared not break it, so he just nodded to the crew, and left for his office.

About two hours into his shift the PADDs were all reviewed and ready to deliver to Captain Janeway. The shift wasn't halfway over yet, but it was a better time then ever to confront the captain. He picked up his PADDs and left his office to head in the direction of the Bridge.

Turbolift doors opened then whooshed shut with him inside.

"Bridge."

He heard the whir of the lift as it acknowledged his command and came to life. _Kathryn, ready or not, here I co-_

His thought was stopped dead in its tracks as the lift neared the bridge. A voice? He could hear a voice; Kathryn's voice. It was loud, and sharp, even in the turbolift he could almost make out what she was saying:

"Everyone against the wall… I'll shoot… you! Join them…"

What the hell was she doing? Shoot whom? It sounded like a mutiny. Why was Kathryn preparing a mutiny, it was her ship?

His thoughts were confirmed as the lift doors opened, for there stood Janeway, phaser in hand, ordering her crew against the wall, and threatening to kill them. Her back was turned to him, but she heard it. The lift had whooshed open, and she turned. 

Eyes on her crew, she had one phaser extended in their direction, and the other pointed at him. A blast. The only thing Chakotay saw before blacked out was her death glare, in full force.

=^=

A light appeared as his eyes flickered open. A sterile smell penetrated his nasal, and he felt like someone had punched a hole through his stomach.

"Please lie still, I have to treat your injuries."

"Doctor? Where the hell am I?"

"You are in sickbay, after a very nasty phaser burn."

"What's the crew doing in that force field?" The crew was on the other side of sickbay, detained by the force field erected around them.

"You're lucky her phaser was only set on 'stun'. I'll explain later, but right now your injuries need attending."

"How long had I been unconscious?"

"About fifteen hours."

"Ugh."

Chakotay lay back down on the bio bed so the doctor could treat his burn. That walking tricorder better explain everything. This was way out of hand. Something was terribly wrong.

About two minutes later the doctor took the dermal regenerator away from his chest, and closed it up. Chakotay sat up, and dangled his feet over the side of the bio bed.

"Start explaining, Doctor." He stated impatiently.

"Where to start? How about where you left off," the Doctor began. "So the captain phasered you, and then led the rest of the senior staff into sickbay. She put in a code, and detained them, then activated me. She laid you on the bio bed, and told me to treat you. In the next hours, she managed to get the whole ship's crew into various small places on the ship, and detain them with a force field as well."

"Why?"

"Commander, do you remember Teero?"

"Yes… oh no, no- not Kathryn?"

"Yes. She is on the bridge with Ensign Kim, and Lieutenant Torres. Apparently, she has control over them as well." Chakotay looked confused. "Here this might help."

The doctor went over to the computer and turned to face Chakotay.

"This is a recording of Captain Janeway approximately three hours ago."

He flipped on the screen, and Janeway appeared on it.

"Attention all crew members. Teero here, I've taken control of your captain. It is nice to see you all, trapped under my power. Since my little charade with your Security Chief didn't work, I attempted my back up plan. 

"Something you failed to notice, is that when your captain visited me in the brig, I mind melded with her, and gave her a different chant to use on the crew when the time was right. I then had her erase the memories of the poor ensign on brig duty that day. No wonder he doesn't remember all of this." She let out a low sounding laugh, and then continued.

 "When the time came, I activated myself inside of your captain's brain, and used her as my puppet for control. I realized that with her, it would be much easier to conquer the Starfleet crew. 

"Oh don't worry, we will be headed for a M-class planet soon enough that will become your new home." Janeway's image took a pause to look down at herself, and then up again. "And don't worry about your captain, I will take good care of her."

The image of Janeway gave a wink, and the computer screen flicked to black.

Chakotay sat amazed, before a pang of fear rushed through him. No wonder Kathryn had been acting cold and harsh these past two days, which must have been when Teero had infected her brain. Chakotay vowed he would save Kathryn in any way possible, and he better hurry, or there might not be anything left to save.

"What is he going to do to Kathryn?"

The doctor let out a sullen look, "I'm afraid I have come to think that he will kill her, and then take possession of your mind once we reach the M-class planet. You and the rest of the Maquis crew will run this ship, as the Starfleet crew is left to die."

Chakotay gulped down the lump that formed in his throat, and tried to clear the wetness in his eyes, before continuing.

"Doctor, why am I not detained like the rest of the crew?" 

"The captain has used the chant on you, as well as Ensign Kim and Lieutenant Torres. They are helping her on the bridge. I wasn't able to get to them in time, but since you had a phaser burn, she had to send you to sickbay. That's when I found the encrypted chant in your brain patterns. From the last time Teero was here, I had found that only mind melds work as a reversal to the mind control. Since Tuvok and the crew is detained, we cannot attempt to mind meld."

"Yes, so we came up with something else." Tuvok's voice filtered through the force field, and for the first time Chakotay noticed all the senior staff in sickbay staring at him. "I have created, with help from the Doctor, a reverse chant. It contradicted the one placed by Captain Janeway in your mind, and both of the chants disappeared. The captain should be expecting you up on the Bridge in a few minutes."

"She still thinks she has control over my mind?"

"Yes. Listen carefully; we only have one chance to save the captain. The doctor will tell you the chant, and you must go up to the Bridge. When you arrive, without rising Teero's suspicions, place one hand across the front of her face, and say the chant fluently in front of her. It will work on her, but not Lieutenant Torres or Ensign Kim. Once the reverse chant is done, Teero's control will be diminished. Ensign Kim, along with Lieutenant Torres, and Captain Janeway should return to normal."

"Why is the captain the only one the chant will work on?"

"Captain Janeway is being controlled directly by Teero, and that is why a chant can be used."

"Then why did the chant work on all the other crew last time?"

"That was not a reverse chant, it was not contradicting one already placed in the mind. Enough questions, the captain will ask for you soon." Tuvok was becoming as agitated as a Vulcan could.

"Why don't you just use it on her through the Comm. System?"

The Doctor spoke up this time, "It needs to be heard in person."

"When Tuvok did the chant on me, he did it through the Comm. System."

"That is because Tuvok was the one being controlled by Teero. If Captain Janeway did the reverse chant through the Comm. System it would work, however, if you did, it wouldn't work, since Teero is not controlling you."

"Alright Doctor, what is the chant, and let me go get our captain back."

"The chant is: Haerlin So Tochema. Remember to spread your hand over her face when you say it." 

The Doctor repeated the chant a couple times, and Chakotay said it back to make sure he had it.

"The captain will hail when you are expected." Tuvok's calm voice filtered through the room.

Chakotay felt something in his stomach. It was a butterfly feeling, and it made him sick. He was nervous, anyone would be. How was he supposed to get his hand on Janeway's face? He wouldn't have ever been able to do that even if she wasn't being controlled! He had to think of something, and fast.

=^=

Ten minutes had gone by, and Chakotay still couldn't think of a perfect plan.

"Janeway to the Doctor."

_Oh well, better play it as it unfolds. _The doctor had walked over to Chakotay and was now standing at the end of the bio bed.

"Doctor here."

"Is the commander ready yet?"

"Yes, I will send him up to you, but I'm not sure he will cooperate."

"Oh I'm sure he will. Janeway out."

The Doctor closed the link off, and then turned to Chakotay. "It's Showtime."

"Perfect, I have a crazed mind controlling Bajorin, a puppet for a Captain, and now a sarcastic Doctor." Chakotay remarked, and the Doctor gave him a roll of the eyes.

=^=

The turbolift doors swished open and Chakotay strolled out onto the Bridge. The captain was standing in front of her chair, Harry at the Con, and B'Elanna at the Tactical Station. It looked vacant, and sounded quiet, even the beeping of consoles didn't seem to register. 

A cloud of tension encompassed the room. Chakotay felt as if he couldn't breathe, let alone speak. The only thing he could do was stand there, watching his captain. If his plan failed, she would die, yet if he succeeded, Teero would leave and Kathryn would be saved.

One chance. One small slit of a chance was all he had. Win and lose became the same as death and life. His captain, his Kathryn, could either die, or live. The latter was a much better choice. He only needed one thing; he needed time.

Chakotay didn't know whether to speak or not so he just walked over to the captain and stood next to her. He was as stern as possible when she turned to look at him.

"Ahh, Commander, how nice of you to join us. Please take your seat."

She sounded harshly sarcastic, and she was teasing him, or should he say, Teero was teasing him. Teero was telling him that the captain was under Bajorin mind control; and, no matter what Chakotay did, he would not succeed in overcoming the Bajorin's power. 

"Aye." An acknowledgment.

But for now he just took his seat, sat there and stared at the view screen, watching the M-class planet get bigger and bigger. His fear was growing in time with the planet. What if he couldn't save Kathryn? 

No, he couldn't think of that. He would save her; he had to.

Ten minutes later:

_Damn, it's hard to act like you are being controlled!_ Chakotay thought, as he sat back in his command chair. Teero had been using Kathryn's body and mind to direct him around. Her voice would come out harsh and strict, and Chakotay would have to obey whatever she said. He did not want to lose the illusion of being under her control. That would cost her life, and most likely his as well.

"Captain, we are approaching the M-class planet." Harry's voice, but it was not Harry.

"Good, put it on screen."

The planet looked brown and barren. A perfect trap for the crew. Teero wasn't going to give them any supplies, and the crew would surely die. There were only a few strips of blue that looked like streams and Chakotay hoped against hope that Teero would be kind enough to drop the crew off next to one of them. That was, however, if Chakotay could not get to Kathryn in time.

"Lieutenant, get a lock on the Starfleet crew including Ensign Kim, and beam them down to the planet on my command. Leave the Maquis crew where they are for now, I will deal with them later." She then turned to Harry, "I want you to keep a watch on the crew when they are on the planet, no tricks. Shoot them if anyone steps out of line."

Shoot them? That's pretty harsh. The crew would just have to survive on the planet for a while. At least Chakotay was an ex-maquis, or he would be beamed down as well and it would have been helpless to save his captain. 

"Captain, we will enter orbit in about thirty seconds." B'Elanna's voice.

"Acknowledged, Lieutenant. Do we have a lock on the crew yet?"

"Affirmative."

"Good, beam them down on my order…" A pause and then, "Now, Lieutenant!"

Chakotay watched Harry disappear before his eyes in a shimmer of blue light. The captain and B'Elanna just stared at the screen, not glimpsing once to see Harry disappear.

"The Starfleet crew is on the planet."

"Good. As soon as I kill off Janeway, set a course away from the planet, warp five." Kathryn's voice, but Teero's mind.

There was a pause in time as Janeway's body looked like it was trying to repel Teero out of her mind. Apparently Janeway was putting up a fight against her own death. _Well, at least Kathryn is still alive in there somewhere._ All she needed was a renewed confidence, a new reason to believe she could do it. Chakotay couldn't think of anything though, what would stop a mind-controlling Bajorin set on killing the one person you love?

"Commander, come closer, I will only be able to cross a short distance to reach your mind." Apparently, Teero still thought Chakotay was under his control, or he wouldn't have said that.

Now Chakotay was shaking. He didn't know what the hell to do in order to distract Teero. Maybe he should just do it, just run up and slam his hand to Kathryn's face. That could be surprising, but no, Teero would resist. He needed a way to get his hand to her face, without defiance from the being inside her head.

"Aye." He acknowledged, and moved toward her.

_Think… think… you big oaf!_

Janeway pulled a phaser out of her pocket, set the setting to 'kill', then aimed it for her head.

_Shit, Teero's going to shoot! It's now or never! Do something!_

It was a spur of the moment decision, but apparently it was the right moment. Teero was just about to shoot, and phaser the captain into pieces, when Chakotay lunged toward her body. "No!" 

He grabbed the phaser from a surprised Teero, and threw it across the room. In one swift movement, the captain's body was knocked to the floor under Chakotay's massive front. Teero was fighting him with Kathryn's body, and Chakotay could not get his hand to her face.

Apparently Teero knew what was going to happen, and was using all of Janeway's strength to repel Chakotay's hands away from their destined place of her face.

_Why didn't I think of that sooner?_ Chakotay had the perfect plan. With all his force he slammed his lips onto Janeway's and locked them there. It was a hard and rough kiss, trying to get Kathryn's body to respond.

It may have been Teero in Kathryn's mind, but she was also there. Her body had always responded to him, as well as her mind. Even though her mind was being controlled, and her body's actions were also under control, the emotions weren't. Chakotay's kiss would make Teero weaker; and, in return, Kathryn's body should start to respond.

It did; she kissed him back. It was a weak kiss, and he knew it was probably because Teero's consciousness was still partly in control. Her consciousness was small, but he needed her to come back into consciousness; he needed her to fight Teero's mind, and the kiss was helping.

Little by little, as their tongues came together, Kathryn's hands let go of his arms, and went to be buried in his hair. 

Teero's consciousness tried to get Kathryn's hands to stop Chakotay's hand from covering her face, but every time the milky white of her hand got close, Kathryn's mind would take over and drive the hands back into Chakotay's hair.

 After waiting for what seemed like hours the right moment came, and Chakotay took advantage. 

He pulled his lips from hers. She was flushed and panting, probably like him, but right now wasn't the time to care. His hand came down on her face as he spread his fingers open. The hand fit perfectly over her face, and he could feel Teero's mind, with everything it had, trying to move away from the hand, but it was too late.

"Haerlin So Tochema!" Chakotay yelled as loud as he could right into her face.

There was a screech of pain that came from Kathryn, and she fell limp. Had it worked? Chakotay removed his hand, and all he saw was Kathryn. Eyes closed, and steady breathing. She was unconscious, but alive.

He looked up from her for only a second, and caught B'Elanna staring, confused at the tactical post. 

"B'Elanna?"

"That's the second time Teero was controlling me…" A half smile, half frown was on her lips, "Next time I'm going to strangle him with my bare hands!"

Chakotay smiled, that was definitely the B'Elanna he knew.

"You remember?"

"Everything." It was B'Elanna's voice, and it was B'Elanna, no Teero.

"The crew-" Chakotay's statement was cut off.

"I took the liberty of setting a heading back to the planet while you were checking the captain. We didn't get far, and should be arriving at its orbit in about two minutes."

"Good, beam the crew back up, and then beam me and the captain to sickbay so the doctor can treat her."

"Chak, may I suggest you get off of her first." B'Elanna winked sarcastically at him, although there was something else in her eyes. Pain, and stress. She had been through a lot lately.

Chakotay looked down, and for the first time realized he must have crushed Kathryn. He shuffled off of her, only to move about a foot, then sat up, her head in his lap.

"Thanks, I forgot. B'El, as soon as the crew settles I want you and Harry to take some time off."

"The captain and you should get some time as well."

"Don't worry I'll take care of her."

B'Elanna turned back to her console with a half grin. "Beaming the crew up now. There were no injuries while on the planet, and Harry's vital signs seem to be functioning, although he may be a little confused. It takes a while to settle in your brain."

"I know what you mean. I can just imagine the stress the captain's mind and body has been through." Chakotay brought his gaze back down to her head, lying peacefully in his lap.

"Beaming you two to sickbay… now."

=^=

Her eyes opened.

"Chakotay."

He was standing right beside her, gazing down into her blue, shimmering eyes. The first thing he wanted her to see was him, and she did.

"How are you?"

"Other then being very tired, stressed, and having a major hangover, pretty well." She smiled her crooked smile she knew he liked.

"Hmm, I bet I can fix that." Chakotay bent over to kiss her, passionately and with such tenderness.

"Please, no mating in my sickbay, and certainly not with my patient!" The Doctor's voice cut through the quietness.

Chakotay jumped, and Kathryn had a blush that crept down her neck and over her cheeks.

"Sorry, Doc." They replied in unison.

"What happened to Teero?" Kathryn asked, being the scientist that she was.

"My analysis says that when his chant was repelled by the reverse chant, his brain patters, and his control over you were also repelled."

"So he's alive still?" Chakotay's voice came.

"My guess is that he is still alive somewhere in the Alpha Quadrant, but scans have shown that all his chants and curses are gone, and there are no hidden ones, either. This was probably the last we saw of him."

Kathryn suddenly remembered something: "The crew?"

"They're fine." Started the Doctor. "A little confused, but Lieutenant Torres was able to beam them all back to the ship."

"Very good, thank you Doctor." A look of relief shown on Kathryn's face, and Chakotay couldn't help feeling the same.

=^=

Two days later, Kathryn was free to leave Sickbay, and was enjoying a quiet evening in her quarters. The chime rang.

"Come in."

Chakotay strode in, smile with his dimples in full force.

"How can I help you, Love?"

Oh, thank God for pet names. She was back to normal, her old self.

"I just thought I would visit. How are you?"

"Fine, although now I know how you felt with Teero controlling you."

"Pretty bad, huh? He wasn't even controlling me directly."

"I know, but I'll live. One mind controlling alien is the same as the next." Kathryn sighed, and rested her head against the back of the couch.

Chakotay took a seat right next to her. "I'm just glad your back to being you."

"Me too, I was getting tired of not being able to kiss you."

"I'm just that irresistible?" He teased.

She smacked him on the leg, but then leaned in to cover his mouth with hers.

"I love you." They came out as a breath of air across his bottom lip, and he cherished each one of those words, every syllable.

"I love you too, Kathryn." 

And they kissed tenderly, carefully. He knew with such confidence that time would find them even closer, knew that they would be inseparable, and he was happy. Their fingers became entwined, and so did their souls. They were bound together, and nothing, not even a mind-controlling alien, could ever separate them. 

Finis 


End file.
